Film

The Oscars Have Finally Decided What They’re Going To Do About The Host(s)

It's not IMPOSSIBLE that Hannah Gadsby will do it.

by Joseph Earp  6 February 2019
Oscars

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Nobody panic, but at this stage, it’s looking increasingly like someone has placed a hex on the Oscars.

The upcoming 2019 ceremony hasn’t just been mired in your regular, run-of-the-mill controversies; it’s been exploring new dimensions of fuckery, like some kind of bad press avant-garde artist.

First, the Academy announced the creation of a ‘Popular Film’ category, designed, presumably, to boost the ailing TV ratings and suck in the viewers who consider the awards elitist. The decision was not well-received, and shortly after, the plans were scrapped.

Then, in a last-ditch attempt to cut down the bloated and overlong ceremony, it was announced the Oscars would feature only three musical performances, rather than the usual five. That decision was also widely mocked, and shortly afterwards, the Academy walked back that one too.

But all those snafus pale in comparison to an even bigger problem: nobody wants to host the Oscars.

Well, that’s not entirely true — when he was first announced as host (what feels like a lifetime ago), ole mate Kevin Hart went on the record to say that it was a dream come true to emcee Hollywood’s night of nights.

But that was before he was fired following the resurfacing of his past homophobic tweets. Subsequent attempts to restore his name to its former glory — including a bizarre and thoroughly misguided reclamation project spearheaded by his friend Ellen DeGeneres — have failed miserably, and reports have abounded that Hart wouldn’t even take the job if the Academy offered it to him again.

Anyway, all that has lead to what has long felt like an inevitable decision: nobody is going to host the 2019 Oscars.

Yep, as reported by Buzzfeed, for the first time since 1989, the Oscars will be presented by a revolving cast of celebrities. Those celebrities include Academy Award winners and nominees like Whoopi Goldberg, Brie Larson, and Charlize Theron, as well as new emerging talents like Tessa Thompson, Awkwafina, and Constance Wu.

There’ll be more celebrities strutting their stuff on stage on the night, but whether or not the names get announced in advance, or are saved as another last minute surprise in a long string of them for the Academy, remains to be seen.

Anyway, at the very least this now means it’s not impossible that Hannah Gadsby might host, as was foretold in the prophecy.